Embroidering apparatus



Filed May 29. 1967 INVENTOR AI /n n HARM! ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,456,608 EMBROIDERKNG APPARATUS Wilhelm Marcus, Hamburg, Germany, assignor to Wolfgang Matheis, Eislingen (Fils), Germany Filed May 29, 1967, Ser. No. 641,821 Claims priority, application Germany, June 10, 1966, M 69,796; Aug. 18, 1966, M 70,627; Dec. 21, 1966, M 72,116

Int. Cl. D05c 3/02, 7/04 US. Cl. 112102 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to an embroidery apparatus. A plurality of embroidering heads are spaced in a predetermined direction. A drive shaft connects these heads extending in the predetermined direction. Drive means is operatively connected to the shaft and is spaced in the predetermined direction by a given distance from a terminal one of the heads. Holder means is adapted to carry material to be embroidered and is arranged adjacent the heads. Carriage means is provided and comprises a support member which connects it with the holder means, such support member extending transversely of the shaft to intermediate the drive means and the terminal one of the heads and being arranged for reciprocation in the predetermined direction by a predetermined distance which at most equals the given distance mentioned before.

Background of the invention The present invention relates to embroidering apparatus in general, and more particularly to an embroidery apparatus comprising a plurality of embroidery heads which operate in concert.

Embroidery apparatuses are known which comprise a plurality of embroidery heads which are spaced from one another and which each are capable of embroidering the material to be treated. This material is carried by an embroidery frame which in turn is supported by and movable with a pantograph. In these known machines the arrangement is such that bars extend to one side of the pantograph and carry the embroidery frame, with one such bar being located between each two consecutive embroidery heads. The movements of the pantograph arrangement, which determine the embroidery pattern because they move the material relative to the head in such a manner that the desired embroidery is obtained, are controlled by a suitable programming means, for instance by a puch-card device.

The problem with such machines is that each of the embroidery heads can act upon only a specific size field of the material to be embroidered and various factors, such as the width of the embroidery heads, the width and the stroke of the support members extending from the pantograph arrangement and carrying the frame, and other factors make it impossible to enlarge the size of this field. As a consequence the fields of adjacent heads do not meet and there is always between them an area of material on which embroidery cannot be applied. In other words, if for instance five embroidery heads are arranged in a row with the necessary spacing from one another, then they will produce five fields of embroidery which are separated from one another by areas not embroidered, rather than producing a strip of embroidery which is not interrupted by blank areas. If, for instance, it is assumed that the embroidery heads are arranged in a row and are spaced from one another by a distance of, say 400 mm., the dimension of the filed which can be embroidered with each head, as seen in the direction of extension of the row of heads, is substantially 250 mm.

3,456,608 Patented July 22, 1969 This means that adjacent field are separated by a blank space of approximately mm. Also, these known machines have employed a separate clamping frame for each embroidery head, that is a frame which outlines the field of material to be treated and tensions such material, holding it ready for the action of the embroidery head. If an uninterrupted strip of embroidery was to be provided on these machines, this was possible only by longitudinally shifting the embroidery frame, an operation which had to be carried out manually and was so inexact that overlapping of the embroidery fields occurred, or that blank spaces did, after all, remain between embroidered sections. Furthermore, such manual shifting of the frame was of course expensive because it required the constant attention of a machine operator.

Summary of the invention The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly, the present invention provides an embroidery machine which is capable of embroidering long strips of material without any interruption by blank spaces.

The apparatus in accordance with the present invention is relatively simple and, therefore, relatively inexpensive to construct.

Operation of an embroidery apparatus according to the present invention requires no specialized skills beyond those already possessed by operators of the priorart machines, and therefore does not necessitate re-training of these operators.

With the apparatus disclosed herein the production of embroidered material is greatly facilitated, resulting in a lowering of production costs and, therefore, of selling costs for such materials.

In accordance with one feature of my invention, I provide a plurality of embroidering heads which are spaced in a predetermined direction, and a drive shaft which uonmeets these ends and which extends in the same direction. Drive means for driving the shaft is operatively connected thereto and is spaced in the predetermined direction by a given distance from a terminal one of the heads. It need not be specifically pointed out that the heads are, of course, arranged in a row because this follows from the fact that they are spaced in a predetermined direction. Holder means is provided which is adapted to carry the material to be embroidered and which is arranged adjacent to the heads so that the same can act upon such a material. Finally, I provide carriage means which comprises a support member connecting the carriage means with the holder means. This support member extends transversely of the shaft intermediate the drive means and the terminal one of the heads and is arranged for reciprocation in the predetermined direction by a predetermined distance which at most equals the given distance by which the drive means for the shaft is spaced from a terminal one of the heads. Thus, the field of material upon which each embroidery head can act is so large that it touches the field upon which each adjacent embroidery head can act and the result is that with my novel embroidery apparatus I can embroider uninterrupted strips of material, without any spacing between fields and without any overlapping of fields.

With my novel apparatus it is not necessary that the embroidery frame, which serves to hold the material to be embroidered, be shifted manually in any way. All movements of the frame are controlled by a programming means, such as the conventional punch-card device mentioned before, and in accordance with the invention it is particularly advantageous if this device, which controls movements of the conventionally used pantograph arrangement and thereby of the embroidery frame, is arranged spaced from the pantograph in the aforementioned predetermined direction, and spaced from the drive means for the drive shaft in a direction normal to the predetermined direction.

The clamping or embroidery frames which are conventionally used and known from the art are of circular configuration and, as pointed out above, are used to hold the material for each of the embroidery heads in conventional embroidery apparatuses. In accordance with the present invention the material must, however, be held for a plurality of embroidery heads, that is for an en tire battery of such heads at the same time. I therefore utilize, in accordance with another feature of my invention, an embroidery frame which consists of a frame member having two opposite faces, with clamping means being provided on one of these faces extending normal thereto. A clamping ring is provided and can be placed into a position overlying the one face, being clamped thereto by the clamping means, and the material to be embroidered is clamped between the one face and the clamping ring and is thus maintained in tightly stretched condition. This frame provides a great degree of stability and the material to be embroidered can be rapidly mounted thereon, even by unskilled personnel. To facilitate such mounting I further provide a mounting arrangement or mounting table onto which the material to be treated or embroidered can be deposited for preliminary stretching in a manner which will be subsequently described, and on which the clamping operation is subsequently performed via the frame member and the clamping ring.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing The drawing is a schematic top-plan view of an ar rangement embodying the invention.

Description of the preferred embodiments Discussing now the drawing in detail, and firstly FIG. 1 thereof, it will be noticed that the apparatus shown therein comprises a plurality of embroidery heads which, in the illustrated embodiment, are arranged in two groups with the heads in group 2 being identified with reference numeral 1 and the heads in group 3 being identified with reference numeral 1'. All of the heads are spaced from one another in a predetermined direction and are jointly driven by an elongated shaft 4 which extends in this pre' determined direction and is operatively connected to all of the heads 1, 1. A clamping frame 5 is associated with the heads 1 of the entire group 2, and a similar clamping frame 5' is associated with all of the heads 1 of the entire group 3, it being clear that only two of the heads 1' of group 3 are illustarted because group 3 is a duplication of group 2 and a complete showing is therefore not essential for an understanding of the invention.

The frames 5, 5' hold the material to be embroidered, as will be discussed later on with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. These frames are connected by the members 9, 9' to a pantograph arrangement 6 consisting of the rods 7, 8 to which the members 9, 9' are connected with the rod portion 10 which enables movement of the frames 5, 5' in the direction of the double-headed arrow A, and they are further connected to the rod 12 through the linkages 11 to permit movement of the frames 5, 5' the doubleheaded arrow B, namely normal to the direction A. These motions are controlled by a program control means, such as a conventional punch-card device 13 which forms no part of the present invention and need therefore not be described, particularly since it is well known to those skilled in the art. The device 13 also acts to control rotation of the shaft 4 via the drive means 14 through the shaft, and this will be discussed subsequently.

Unlike the conventional apparatuses of this type, my novel apparatus does not have any members which join the frames to the pantograph, such as the members 9, 9', extend intermediate adjacent ones of the embroidery heads 1, or 1. Thus, movements of the pantograph arrangement, and thereby of the frames 5, 5, in the direction of the double-headed arrow A are not limited in this manner. Furthermore, the shaft 4 is driven by the separate drive means 14, as pointed out earlier, and this in turn is controlled by the device 13. By arranging the device 14 spaced from the terminal embroidery head 1a of the battery of embroidery heads 1 at such a distance that neither the embroidery head 1a nor the drive means 14 interfere with reciprocation of the member 9- even at the extreme end positions of the stroke thereof, make it possible to shift the frames 5, 5' in either direction of the double-headed arrow A to such an extent that the field of the material to be embroidered by each head will extend directly to the field to .be embroidered by the new adjacent embroidery head, without any space being left between two such adjacent fields. This will be more readily understood if it is assumed that the area outlined by each of the frames 5, 5, and corresponding to the size of the material which is to be embroidered and is carried by the respective frames, is subdivided into a plurality of identical fields which in the drawing are indicated in phantom lines and, in case of the frame 5, are identified with reference numeral 5a and in case of the frame 5' are identified with reference numeral 5a. From this it will be seen that, if the drive means 14 is spaced from the terminal head It: associated with the frame 5 by a certain given distance, and if the stroke of the member 9 in the direction of the double-headed arrow A is less or at most equal to this given distance and corresponds to the extension of each of the fields 5a or 511' in the direction of the arrow A, then the embroidered area which can be treated by each of the heads 1 or 1' will extend directly to the embroidered area which can be treated by the next adjacent head, and no space will be left between two such consecutive areas, resulting in a continuous strip of em broidery corresponding substantially to the length of each of the frames 5 or 5'.

It is evident that the elongation of the frames 5, 5' makes it necessary that they be stable and rigid in themselves, and that they be simple to operate because they are relatively large.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of apparatuses differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an embroidery apparatus, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features which, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. In an embroidery apparatus, in combination, a plurality of embroidery heads arranged in a row spaced a predetermined distance from each other and each having a front end and a rear end; a common drive shaft for said embroidery heads extending in direction of said row and being connected to said rear ends of said heads; drive means connected to one end of the drive shaft and spaced in said direction by a distance from a terminal one of said row of heads which is greater than said predetermined distance; common frame means for said plurality of heads adapted to carry material to be embroidered and being arranged in the region of said front ends of said heads to one side of said drive shaft, said frame means including an elongated member substantially parallel to said shaft and located beneath said front ends of said heads; carriage means arranged on the other side of said drive shaft for reciprocating said frame means in said direction through said predetermined distance and transverse to said direction; and connecting means connecting said carriage means to said frame means in the region of opposite end portions of the latter, said connecting means including connecting members extending transverse to and over said shaft and all of which are located beyond opposite terminal heads of said rows of heads and at least one of which extends through the space between said one terminal head and said drive means.

2. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said carriage means includes a pantograph arrangement.

3. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1, and further comprising program control means operatively connected with said carriage means for effecting movement of said frame in programmed sequence.

4. In an apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said program control means is arranged spaced from said carriage means in said predetermined direction, and to one side of said drive means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 388,035 8/1888 Gegauf 11290 2,091,727 8/1937 Bohmann et al. 112102 2,896,562 7/1959 Scheibel et a1. 112103 3,168,882 2/1965 Scholl et a1. 112-403 X FOREIGN PATENTS 363,552 9/1962 Switzerland.

ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 

